Fan device for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a fan device for a vehicle, the fan device comprising a regulating device and a motor for actuating a ventilation device of the fan device, characterized in that the fan device is designed such that the motor and the regulating device can be cooled by a common air flow of the ventilation device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a fan device for connecting to an air-conditioning system or a fan system in a vehicle, for example a motor vehicle.

It is normally necessary to supply an adequate amount of air to a motor of a fan device for internal cooling. Said cooling air is supplied conventionally by means of an air duct which produces a connection between a motor housing and a customer-side fan system or air-conditioning system.

A regulator device for controlling a fan device of the vehicle must also be cooled. For this purpose, the cooling body device of the regulator device is conventionally recessed into the wall of the fan housing of the fan device, so as to lie directly in the tangential air flow of the fan. Alternatively, the regulator device may also be arranged in the direct vicinity of or below the blower device of the fan device, such that the cooling body lies in the radial air flow of the blower device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a fan device is now provided which has improved cooling of the regulator device and of the motor.

The fan device according to the invention, in particular for a vehicle, has a regulator device and a motor for actuating a blower device of the fan device, wherein the fan device is designed such that the motor and the regulator device can be cooled by means of a common air flow.

Such a fan device has the advantage that no separate measures need be taken, or no separate interfaces need be provided, in order to adequately cool the regulator device and the motor.

Production and assembly costs can be reduced in this way. Furthermore, the adaptation to a customer-side fan system or an air-conditioning system is considerably simplified. The fan device according to the invention also provides a module in which the cooling of the motor and of the regulator device is already integrated.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the regulator device is arranged behind and/or below the blower device. This has the advantage that the regulator device cannot adversely affect the air flow generated by the blower device.

In a further embodiment according to the invention, the fan device has an air duct guide, in which a part of an air flow of the blower device is conducted past the regulator device and onward to the motor. This has the advantage that both the regulator device and also the motor can be cooled with a part of the air flow of the blower device. Here, as an air flow, a part of the air flow flowing radially out of the blower device is used which then flows out tangentially to the regulator device.

In a further embodiment according to the invention, the air duct guide (or the housing of the fan device in which the motor and the blower device are also arranged) has a partition element which substantially separates the regulator device from the blower device in the axial direction while the partition element leaves the air duct guide or the housing of the fan device substantially open in the radial direction toward the regulator device. The axial separation has the advantage that the regulator device does not adversely affect the air flow of the blower device. However, since it is the case in the radial direction that the air duct guide or the housing of the fan device at least in one section does not separate the regulator device from the blower device but rather is open in said region, a for example substantially tangentially outflowing part of the air mass flow of the blower device can be utilized to cool the regulator device and additionally the motor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of the schematic figures of the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a fan device having a connectable fan housing device;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a further fan device having a fan housing device already connected;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a fan housing device for a fan device with a separate regulator position;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a further fan device having a connectable fan housing device and a regulator device which is arranged below a blower device;

FIG. 5 shows a further perspective view of the fan device as per FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a fan device having a connected fan housing device according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the fan device as per FIG. 6 without a fan housing device;

FIG. 8 shows a partially sectional view through the fan device and the connected fan housing device as per FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 shows a partially sectional view through the fan device and the fan housing device as per FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 shows a partially sectional view through the fan device as per FIG. 7.

In all the figures, identical or functionally identical elements and devices have been provided with the same reference numerals unless stated otherwise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 firstly illustrates a perspective view of a fan device 10 according to the prior art. Here, the fan device 10 has a blower device 12 which sucks in air from the environment and conducts said air for example onward to an air-conditioning system and/or a fan system of a vehicle via an associated fan housing device 14. The housing device, for example of an air-conditioning system to which the fan device 10 can be connected, for conducting the air flow onward is not illustrated in FIG. 1 for the purpose of clarity. Furthermore, a motor 16 is provided which actuates the blower device 12. Here, the motor 16 may be controlled for example by means of an external regulator device such as is shown for example in the following FIG. 3, or alternatively for example by means of a simple actuating device in the form of switches in the vehicle.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a further fan device 10. Here, the fan device 10 likewise has a blower device 12. The latter sucks in air from the environment and the air mass flow subsequently flows in the radial direction out of the blower device 12 into a fan housing device 14. The fan housing device 14 conducts the air mass flow onward to an air-conditioning and/or fan system (not illustrated) connected to the fan device 10. For this purpose, the fan housing device 14 has, on its end, a fastening flange section 18. Here, the motor 16 for actuating the blower device 12 is actuated for example by means of a corresponding actuating device, for example in the form of one or more switches in the associated vehicle. A regulator device, for example for the fine control of the motor 16, is not provided in the present case.

Furthermore, FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a fan housing device 14 of an air-conditioning system or of a fan system for connecting to a fan device (not illustrated) for example of an air-conditioning system. Here, as a fan device, use may be made of a fan as shown in FIG. 1. Here, an external regulator device 20 is provided which is arranged at a separate regulator position on the air duct device 12 of the air-conditioning system. Here, the regulator device 20 is cooled by the air mass flow which flows out of a blower device of the fan device to the connected air-conditioning and/or fan system.

FIG. 4 shows a further perspective view of a fan device 10 according to the prior art. The fan housing device which is connected to the fan device 10 is not illustrated here for the purpose of clarity. As can be seen from FIG. 4, a regulator device 20 for controlling the motor 16 of the blower device 12 is provided below the blower device 12 or a blade ring 22. Here, the regulator device 20 has for example an area of studs, for example aluminum studs, on one side as a cooling body device 24, by means of which the regulator device 20 can be cooled. Here, the regulator device 20 with its cooling body device 24 lies in the radial air flow of the blower device 12.

FIG. 5 illustrates the fan device 10 according to FIG. 4 from the side of the motor 16. Provided below the studded area of the cooling body device 24 are the electronics 26 of the regulator device 20 and for example a connecting plug 28 for the regulator device 20.

Conventional embodiments of fan devices have various disadvantages. For example, an interface must be defined and provided between the fan device and the air-conditioning and/or fan system of a vehicle, via which interface air, for example cooling air, is supplied to the air-conditioning and/or fan system of the vehicle.

Furthermore, said interface generally requires different design solutions for CW (clockwise) and CCW (counter-clockwise) motors. The configuration and dimensioning of said interface must be carefully coordinated between the customer and supplier. Each air-conditioning system or each customer fan device in the vehicle requires a separate structural solution. Furthermore, the cooling power is highly dependent on the location in the customer fan device at which said extraction of air takes place. Quality can be assessed only in the assembled state with the customer fan. Such an interface however constitutes a potential weak point, for example with regard to permeability and tolerances. Said interface requires a high level of expenditure in terms of design and manufacture.

If the regulator device is arranged at some arbitrary location in the fan housing of the fan device, this results in similar disadvantages in the configuration of the extraction of heat from the regulator device and also in the extraction of air for cooling the motor. That is to say, the regulator device is for example not optimally cooled or, as a result of its installation position, leads for example to an undesired impairment of the air flow of the blower device.

Furthermore, in such an embodiment of the fan device, the blower device consists of two separate assemblies. Here, if the regulator device is arranged in the radial air flow of the blower device on a module carrier of the fan device, then the regulator device must be arranged such that firstly the cooling body is situated in the air flow to a sufficient extent that it is cooled, and secondly the regulator device can be accommodated in the limited installation space. This generally leads, in particular in conjunction with the special form of the blower device, to complex and expensive solutions. A cooling body of the regulator device which also projects into the radial air flow of the blower device causes a disruption of the air flow. This in turn leads to a reduction of the fan power.

According to the invention, an improved fan device 10 is now provided which has an integrated regulator device 20.

FIG. 6 illustrates a fan device 10 according to an embodiment of the invention in a perspective view from the direction of the motor 16 of the fan device 10. Here, the fan device 10 is connected for example to a fan housing device 14 which is arranged substantially completely around a fan device. Said fan housing device 14 may be a separate part connected to said fan device 10 or else may be part of the fan device 10.

Here, to fasten a regulator device 20, a receptacle 32 is arranged in a housing section below the blower device. In the present case, an air flow is sucked in by the blower device and subsequently a part of the air flow is conducted along the regulator device 20 to the motor 16, for example in order to cool the latter also.

FIG. 7 illustrates only the fan device 10 without the fan housing device that can be connected thereto. Here, the fan device 10 is shown from the direction of the inlet of the blower device 12. Here, the regulator device 20 is arranged below the blower device 12 in a receptacle 32 in the housing or housing section 30. Here, the regulator device 20 is closed or partitioned in the axial direction toward the blower device 12. This is achieved by virtue of a partition element 34 being provided between the regulator device 20 and the blower device 12. Here, the blower device 12 is designed to be open toward the regulator device 20 in the radial direction.

For this purpose, the partition element 34 has for example at least one opening 36 in the radial or in the substantially radial direction. In this way, it is achieved that a part of the air flow of the blower device 12 can flow to the regulator device 20 or to the cooling body device 24 thereof without the air flow of the blower device 12 being adversely affected by the regulator device 20 in the process. Here, the regulator device 20 has, as a cooling body device 24, for example an area of studs 38, for example of aluminum studs, which can be cooled by means of the air flow of the blower device 12. It is however also possible for any other type of cooling body device 24 to be used. The illustration in FIG. 7 is merely an example. It is possible inter alia for the electronics 26 of the regulator device 20 to be provided below the cooling body device 24.

FIG. 8 shows the fan device 10 according to the invention and the outer fan housing device 14 connected thereto, and also the regulator device 20 in the receptacle 32, in a partially sectional view. Here, the regulator device 20 has, below its cooling body device 24, not only its electronics 26 but for example a connecting plug device 28. Furthermore, the receptacle 32 in which the regulator device 20 is arranged is for example closed off in the axial direction toward the blower device 12 by the corresponding partition element 34. As a result, a first air duct section 40 is formed in which the blower device 12 is arranged, and above said first air duct section, a second air duct section 42 is formed in which the regulator device 20 is arranged. Here, the receptacle 32 is designed to be open in the radial direction such that for example air flowing tangentially out of the blower device 12 can flow through the receptacle 32 with the regulator device 20. In other words, in this way, a type of under-floor ventilation is provided in order to adequately cool the regulator device 20 but without hindering the air flow of the blower device 12. Here, the two air duct sections 40, 42 are connected to one another in the radial direction, such that a part of the air flow of the blower device 12 can flow to the regulator device 20 and subsequently to the motor 16.

As is shown in the sectional view of the fan device 10 in FIG. 9, the regulator device 20 is installed in said receptacle 32 in such a way that its cooling body device 24 lies in the tangential or substantially tangential air flow. Furthermore, said receptacle 32 is connected to the interior space of the motor housing via the second air duct section 42, such that at the same time a part of the air flow of the blower device 12 can be extracted and supplied to the motor 16 in order for example to cool the latter.

As shown in FIG. 9, the air duct guide is formed in duplicate in a substantially symmetrical arrangement. Here, air is firstly sucked in by means of the blower device 12, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9. The air mass flow subsequently exits the blower device 12 in the radial direction. Here, a part, for example a relatively large part, of the air flow passes into the first air duct section 40 and from there onward into the connected outer fan housing device 14, which supplies the air mass flow for example to a connected air-conditioning and/or fan system. Another part of the air flow or a substantially tangentially outflowing air flow passes into the second duct section 42 of the fan device 10 because the receptacle 32 is closed off by the partition element 34 only in the axial direction toward the blower device 12 but not in the radial direction. The air flow thus flows, after the blower device 12, for example through an opening 36 to the receptacle 32 and/or along the regulator device 20 and the cooling body device 24 thereof and finally to the motor 16 and for example carbon brushes of the motor 16. In this way, it is possible for both the regulator device 20 and the motor 16 to be adequately cooled without the air guide of the blower device 12 being adversely affected.

For this purpose, as described above, the blower device 12 is separated from the regulator device 20 in the axial direction by the partition element 34, such that the air flows through the first and second duct sections 40, 42 can not negatively influence one another. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the partition element 34 is formed for example with a conical base 44. Said partition element 34 may however likewise have a flat or planar base or any other shape so long as the air guidance along the regulator device 20 to the motor 16 is realized. Aside from the base 44, the partition element 34 for example additionally has a side wall section 46 which forms a part of the second air duct section 42 and at least partially separates the latter from the fan housing device 14 which supplies air from the blower device 12 for example to an air-conditioning system etc.

As described above, a part of the air mass flow of the blower device 12 flows in the direction of the regulator device 20 and from there outward in the direction of the motor 16 via the second air duct section 42. The other, and in this case greater, part of the air mass flow of the blower device 12 flows via the first air duct section 40 radially outward, and from there for example into a connected air-conditioning and/or fan system of a vehicle.

FIG. 10 shows a further sectional view of the fan device 10 according to the invention, wherein the fan housing device that can be connected thereto is not shown. Here, the regulator device 20 in the receptacle 32 has not only the cooling body device 24 and the electronics 26 but for example also a connecting plug 28. Also illustrated are the for example partially encircling side wall element 46 and the conical base 44 of the partition element 34. Furthermore, the profile of the air mass flow from the blower device 12 to the regulator device 20 and to the motor 26 is indicated by arrows along the air duct sections 40, 42, as in FIG. 9.

According to the invention, the extraction of heat from the regulator and the cooling of the motor are integrated in a common structural solution and need not be realized separately from one another. Furthermore, said solution is integrated entirely into the fan module or into the fan device. Here, the invention has the advantage that extra interfaces to a customer air-conditioning system and/or fan system for the extraction of the cooling air for the motor and the regulator device are no longer required. The installation interface to the customer is thereby made considerably simpler and more robust.

A further advantage of the fan device according to the invention is that the positioning of the under-floor ventilation at the circumference of the fan device may be defined independently of a customer air-conditioning system or customer fan system. The configuration is substantially independent of the customer design. The number of customer-specific variants is reduced. Furthermore, the cooling power for the motor and the regulator device is made considerably less dependent on the customer design and may be substantially optimized even without the customer fan system. As a result of the substantially symmetrical configuration, the design may be used equally for CW and CCW fans. This also considerably reduces the number of individual parts required. With the under-floor ventilation design, adequate installation space for a standard regulator device is also provided. No specially adapted and complex cooling body device need be used. As a result of the fact that the blower device is covered at the top by the partition element, the radial air flow remains shielded and is not disrupted. The under-floor ventilation has furthermore proven to be relatively robust with regard to different receptacle cross sections and different cross sections of fan housing devices. The volume flow of the cooling air flow can be additionally optimized by means of the configuration and arrangement of the individual cross sections.

Here, the fan device may be delivered as a fan module as illustrated in FIG. 7, which can later be connected to a customer-side fan housing device, for example of an air-conditioning system. The fan device may however additionally be provided with a separate fan housing device, as shown for example in FIG. 6, and connected to a customer-side air-conditioning and/or fan system via a corresponding interface. Here, the fan housing device has for example a radially and/or axially flared section at the end, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Here, the end section of the fan housing device may additionally be designed as an interface for connecting to an air-conditioning and/or fan system of a vehicle, for example motor vehicle. 

1. A fan device for a vehicle, the fan device (10) having a regulator device (20) and a motor (16) for actuating a blower device (12) of the fan device (10), characterized in that the fan device (10) is designed such that the motor (16) and the regulator device (20) can be cooled by means of a common air flow of the blower device (12).
 2. The fan device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the regulator device (20) is arranged at least one of behind and below the blower device (12).
 3. The fan device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a part of an air flow of the blower device (12) is conducted past the regulator device (20) to the motor (16) via an air duct guide (40, 42).
 4. The fan device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the air duct guide (40, 42) has a partition element (34) which separates the regulator device (20) from the blower device (12) in an axial direction while the partition element (34) leaves the air duct guide (40, 42) open in a radial direction toward the regulator device (20).
 5. The fan device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the air duct guide (40, 42) has a partition element (34) which partially separates the regulator device (20) from the blower device (12) and which forms a first air duct section (40) in which the blower device (12) is provided and a second air duct section (42) in which the regulator device (20) is provided, the two air duct sections (40, 42) being connected to one another.
 6. The fan device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the regulator device (20) has a cooling body device (24), the regulator device (20) being held in a receptacle (32) of a housing section (30) of the fan device (10) such that the cooling body device (24) can be impinged on, and cooled, by the air flow of the blower device (12).
 7. The fan device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the air duct guide (40, 42) has a first air duct section (40) for conducting a part of the air flow of the blower device (12) to a further system.
 8. The fan device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that a first air duct section (40) of the air duct guide (40, 42) is connected to a fan housing device (14) which conducts air from the blower device (12) to a system.
 9. The fan device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the partition element (34) has a base (44) which substantially separates the regulator device (20) from the blower device (12) in an axial direction, and the first and second air duct sections (40, 42), the partition element (34) additionally having a side wall element (46) which at least partially separates the second air duct section (42) from a fan housing device (14) which supplies air from the blower device (12) to a system that can be connected to the housing device (10).
 10. The fan device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the fan device (10) has one of a clockwise and a counter-clockwise motor.
 11. The fan device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the part of the air flow of the blower device (12) is flowing out substantially tangentially from the blower device.
 12. The fan device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the cooling body device (24) includes at least one studded area (38).
 13. The fan device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the further system is at least one of an air-conditioning system and a fan system.
 14. The fan device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the system is at least one of an air-conditioning and a fan system.
 15. The fan device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the fan housing device (14) is at least one of part of the fan device (10) and part of the system. 